After the War
by 195011
Summary: My first attempt at fan fiction so I’m sure there will be plenty of mistakes- sorry in advance! This surprisingly enough takes place after the battle of Hogwarts and Harry decides to go back to Hogwarts and not join the Aurors straight away.
1. Chapter1

You would have thought that the years following the Battle of Hogwarts would have been filled with happiness and a time for celebrating and relaxing. This was not the case for Harry Potter, if anything the subsequent years started to go down hill after the first 4 months. To start with things were as they should be, there were celebrations a plenty and Harry was given time to recover and relax however this all changed when Harry made the controversial decision not to enrol into Auror training but to continue his education at the newly refurbished Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

*

The summer seemed to fly by with not much to keep Harry busy, he was of age now and he no longer had to return to the Dursleys so decided to make himself at home at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Kreacher had appeared at Number 12 after Harry had decided to call it home, the two settling in to a quiet existence both with a new respect for the other after the war, the house slowly becoming immaculate with the new found drive from the House Elf. Harry began to develop a schedule to fill his days, he would spend his mornings at the Burrow to alleviate the concerns of Molly Weasley that he was taking care of himself, have lunch in the presence of the rest of the family then return to his home to relax and study his new books, no longer having a reason to hold himself back as Ron had decided to find employment instead of returning to school. Harry felt he didn't have to hide anymore out of fear that he would upset his best friend, after seeing how Ron had treated Hermione at the beginning of their school life and with years of being forces to do worse than Dudley when living at the Dursleys it became habit to hold himself back so he was merely average. He dove into his new studies devouring everything that we could get his hands on focusing on areas he felt he was weaker in to start before spreading out to anything he could get his hands on. Harry managed to avoid the crowds of shoppers in Diagon Alley after discovering he could purchase most items he needed by Owl Order, anything that he couldn't get hold of this way he sent Kreacher.

Before he knew it the end of summer was here, it was the second to last week of August and Harry found himself in a light and airy drawing room in his new home sat in a soft armchair with tea and biscuits. As the small mantlepiece clock chimed 10am a quiet knock was heard at the door before Kreacher entered the room followed by Minerva McGonagall. She had come to discuss Harry's return to school, "Minerva!" Harry greeted warmly, "How have you been? Please take a seat, can we get you anything to drink?" Harry fired off the questions one after another, laughing the Professor accepted and sat opposite Harry. Minerva McGonagall and Harry had developed a close kinship over the summer after she became one of the only people that knew about the events of the war and that was mainly because Harry had forgotten about the pensieve that he had left in the Headmasters office, the new Headmistress had discovered the memories when moving into her new office and gently questioned Harry when returning the memories to him. After a long emotional day, the two had developed a close bond similar to that of a favourite Aunt and her nephew. They had been sending owls back and forth since and had discussed most topics in depth and Minerva knew Harry better than anyone else. The pair settled into a quiet natter about anything that had happened since they last spoke eventually leading up to the purpose of Minerva's visit.

Minerva was delighted by Harry's choice to return to the school, fully aware about the amount Harry had been studying in his time off. With that in mind she maneuvered the conversation "Harry, I have a favour to ask of you" she began "How would you feel about re-sitting your end of 6th year exams for me next week?" Harry looked at her with wide eyes, Minerva continued "I want to get a better feel of where you are after everything you have been through - I think that you will surprise yourself with what you know. If you don't want to I will not push you into this and you will simply pick up where you left off, the same goes for if your scores are not as good as they have been previous it will just mean I know where to offer you more support but don't think for a minute that I haven't noticed the books on warding, arithmancy and runes that you've been studying as well as all the more advanced topics you've been owling me about." Harry sat in silence before leaning over and taking a biscuit from the try, relaxing back on his chair he pondered Minerva's request. It would put him in a better frame of mind for re-starting school, and he would be able to find out how much work he would need to put in. Breaking out of his contemplations realising a good 5 minutes had passed since his friend had last spoken Harry looked over at Minerva and took in the slightly concerned look that was covering her face. "Alright," Harry sighed "I'll do it" giving in to the one person he looked up to. The rest of Minerva's visit was taken up with the fine details of what Harry would be doing for the following week agreeing that the next day the Headmistress would owl over the exam papers he would be taking. Harry had promised that he would complete the written exams without external help and he would Floo over to Hogwarts first thing Monday morning with his answers for the practical exams he would need to take.

*

The morning of the 24th August 1998 swiftly arrived and after a last-minute check to make sure he had all Harry stepped into his fireplace and disappeared in a rush of green flames at precisely 8.30am. Stumbling over the hearth rug Harry straightened, blushing fiercely Harry made his way over to Minerva McGonagall who was attempting not to laugh. Harry took in the familiar room as he crossed. Gone were the silver thingamajigs and doodads that had once lined the room when it had been home to Albus Dumbledore, now the room was far warmer and inviting with the faded tapestries giving the room a lived-in homely feel. With wide smiles the pair greeted each other and, with quiet small talk, made their way to the great hall for the start of Harry's practical tests. Minerva McGonagall had easily persuaded several of the school's staff in helping with the week's tests, each practical test would last for 1-2 hours with the exception of potions which would be 3 hours long. Harry's tests would start at 9 am and he would stay over in one of the guest suites until they were all finished hopefully leaving time for them to be marked by Thursday. While the Professors had organised an order of exams, they had not set the times, these would be dependant on Harry, both how long it took for him to complete them and how much energy he would have that day. In the times during the practical tests the other Professors would mark his written exams meaning the marks they would be waiting for would be his practical ones. As the unlikely duo arrived at the Great Hall, they were met by Professors Flitwick, Sprout, Trelawney and the new Potions Master Professor Nara Breowan, after a quick cup of tea and some toast the group made their way into a nearby anti-chamber were Harry was given an explanation of how the following days would run, his 'timetable' listed the subjects the school provided in alphabetical order. Harry handed over his satchel containing his written exams over to Professor Flitwick and the troupe left the room leaving Harry and Minerva to begin.

The next 2 days passed quicker that Harry thought they would with Harry finishing the majority of his exams with plenty of time to spare, unbeknownst to Harry the Professors has assigned past NEWT exam papers and practicals, the group were in awe of the supposed ease Harry displayed when completing all of the spell work asked of him and saw a marked improvement in the exams that they had not seen previously from him. Wednesday morning saw a bedraggled group sitting at the head table in the Great Hall having marked through the night as Harry walked in. A sealed envelope had been placed on Harry's plate and as he sat down, he propped it in between two juice bottles and helped himself to breakfast. The staff looked on with wide eyes at this cavaliere attitude, 5 minutes later the staff still hadn't looked away and Harry couldn't control himself any longer before bursting into laughter." Your faces!" he spluttered in between breaths. The entire table relaxed and as Harry calmed down, he picked up his envelope and broke the seal. Drawing out the piece of parchment Harry read,

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you of the grades you have achieved on your NEWT level equivalent exams. These marks are an indication of the grade you would receive if you were to take your NEWT exams today in the following subjects:

Ancient Runes A

Arithmancy A  
Astronomy EE (written EE, practical EE)  
Care of Magical Creatures O (written O, practical EE)  
Charms O (written O, practical O)  
Defence against the Dark Arts O (written O, practical O)  
Divination A (written EE, practical A)  
Herbology EE (written O, practical EE)  
History of Magic EE  
Muggle studies O  
Potions EE (written O, practical A)  
Transfiguration EE (written EE, practical O)

With Warm Regards

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.

Harry looked up and took in the apprehensive faces surrounding the table "Well," Harry calmly stated "What does this mean for the next year?"


	2. Chapter2

September 1st fell on a Tuesday this year and for once Harry arrived at Platform 9 half an hour early, unfortunately things were not going to go to plan that morning. By the time Harry found an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express he had had enough. After being bombarded by shouted questions and people rushing to him since he stepped foot on platform 9 Harry breathed a deep sigh of relief as he closed the compartment door behind him. He locked and silenced the door with two small flicks of his wand not noticing that he had done so silently and drew the blind blocking the inevitable stares and disruptions that he was expecting since this was the first time he had been seen in public since the day after the Final Battle.

At 11.01am the Hogwarts Express left the station "Diaphano tenebroso" Harry whispered, using one of the numerous spells that he has learnt over the summer that allowed him to see through the blind on the door but stopping others from looking in, he pulled a textbook from his backpack and settled back into his seat for the journey. Ten minutes later Harry was interrupted by someone attempting to open the door to his compartment, seeing a young teary-eyed girl Harry got up and opened the door to the compartment. The girl stumbled in and Harry had to grasp her by the shoulders to prevent her from falling flat on her face. "You alright there?" Harry enquired, "I'm so sorry" the girl mumbled "All the compartments are full- I'll keep looking" she said glancing down. Harry's heart broke thinking back to when he was a first year "That's ok, you can stay here" He replied gently "Do you have your trunk?" he asked straightening and when she nodded he popped his head out into the corridor, luckily no one noticed him as he quickly pulled the trunk in and made short work of storing it in the compartment. Closing the door and wordlessly locking it he turned to the girl again "Why don't you take this side" Harry indicated to the bench opposite him "you should get the better view from there" Harry got the girl settled and returned to his seat and put his book back in his lap. "Well, since we're compartment-mates we had best introduce ourselves hadn't we" Harry began, "My name is Harry and I am about to start my 7th year at Hogwarts and I'm a Gryffindor, how about you?" He began with a friendly smile. "J-J-Jessica, it's my first year" She mumbled if possible, getting quieter. "Well, I'm going to read through some of my books for this year why don't you do the same?" Harry said taking pity on Jessica, quietly relieved that she didn't seem to be chatty or know who he was. Jessica nodded and jumped up, hurrying to her trunk and selected one of her textbooks, she then curled into the corner of her bench and drifted off into the world of magic. After several hours, reviewing most of his textbooks and a hearty lunch provided by Kreacher, Jessica had finally relaxed enough that the two were enjoying a quiet conversation about what to expect at Hogwarts. After several minutes of conversation Harry discovered that Jess was an orphan who lived in a residential care home in the Yorkshire Dales and had only just found out about the Wizarding World that summer. Harry was able to alleviate her fears that she would be behind everyone at Hogwarts because of her upbringing and offered that regardless of the outcome of her sorting he would assist her in any way she needed. This was all that she needed to relax and Jess started asking what seemed like all the questions under the sun about what Hogwarts would be like, did the really ride brooms and if they would learn to turn people into toads.

There was a gentle tapping at the glass of the compartment door, Harry looked up and his face broke out into a smile, nervously standing at the door to his compartment was Neville Longbottom. Harry and Neville had shared correspondence over the last month after Neville reached out to Harry to make sure he was ok after everything that he had been through, not many people had done this, the majority of people who Harry knew had assumed that he was fine since Tom Riddle was no more and Harry hadn't gone off the deep end. Neville seemed to understand that while Tom Riddle was evil incarnate Harry still had to kill someone, which would affect almost anyone. A broad smile crossed Harry's face as he got up and pulled the door open, pulling Neville inside and dragging him into an embrace. "Thought I'd find you here" Neville stayed with a grin, " Only place that was locked!" With a chuckle Harry settled back into his seat and began introductions. The rest of the journey passed smoothly with Harry and Neville taking turns telling some of the more light-hearted stories from their earlier years to Jess.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station later that evening covered in darkness, Harry and Neville skilfully escaped the rush of excited children bringing Jess with them and with words of encouragement steered her towards Hagrid who, as always, helped the first years down to the lake to their first view of Hogwarts. Having left Jess in Hagrid's capable hands Harry and Neville arrived at the Thestral drawn carriages, several of the older students looking either shocked or in awe of the beautiful creatures. With a shared look Harry and Neville made their way onto the front carriage while the majority of people were distracted. It was a heart breaking sight seeing Hogwarts come into view scars of the battle visible in the lighter stonework of the repairs, Harry was prepared for the onslaught of memories that came flooding back after visiting the castle over the summer, both of the good times and the bad, others were not so lucky if the drawn in breaths and quiet cries were anything to go by. By the time everyone was settled in the great hall the atmosphere had improved, the excitement of the younger years was contagious and soon a buzz was in the air with friends catching up and discussing the year ahead.

Harry had chosen a seat of the way down Gryffindor table Neville on his right and an unknown lower year on his left and settled in, blending into the crowd of fellow students allowing the wash of conversation to drift over him. Harry was jostled back to himself when a sudden round of applause startled him from his daydreams, joining in Harry realised the Sorting Hat had finished is song and the first student was called up by Professor Sprout the new Deputy Headmistress. Looking through the line of first years Harry searched for Jess. Spotting her 3rd in line he caught her eye and gave her a small smile and wave, Jess visibly relaxed and turned her attention back to Professor Sprout in time for her name to be called, "Callen, Jessica!". Harry followed her progress as the hat was placed on her head and watched as the hat made it's decision, a long pause later and a cry of "HUFFLEPUFF" sounded. As a smile split Jess' face she made her way to the yellow and black clad table, Harry watched her disappear amongst the happy Hufflepuffs glad she had a warm welcome.

Nearly 2 hours after arriving the students were sent off to their respective common rooms, some rushing to claim the best spots, others walking slowly chatting with friends and first years being herded by their Prefects, Harry saying good bye to Neville, managed to make his way out of the great hall relatively unnoticed and into a near by alcove. Away from prying eyes Harry was able to slip on his invisibility cloak and finally made his way to his dorm room. Harry and Neville were the only two 8th year Gryffindor boys to return to Hogwarts not as many people as Harry had hoped had taken the Headmistress up on her offer with some, like Ron, choosing to seek employment, some like Hermione, chose to attend different schools abroad due to the memories Hogwarts now instilled in them and some chose to quietly fade out of the Wizarding world transferring to a non-magical school. Harry and Neville were sharing a two-bed dorm room, the dorm was the same size what they had shared with they were five of them, their beds situated next to each other separated by the addition of two desks, their trunks already at the base of them. Two plush sofas were also added and placed at an angle in front of the beds around a fire giving the young men their own common room allowing them to relax away from prying eyes. Harry swiftly unpacked his trunk, placing his robes and the small selection of muggle wear he brought in his wardrobe and draws, his books on the shelf above his desk blank rolls of parchment and extra quills followed into his desk and finally his treasured possessions all found homes in his new space. Thoroughly exhausted Harry changed for bed, drew his curtains and collapsed onto his bed and was asleep shortly after.


End file.
